EU Probably Won't Impose Tougher Sanctions on Russia After MH17 Crash

The European Union met today to discuss imposing tougher sanctions on Russia in the wake of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster. The EU probably won't do anything, however, because leaders are worried about having continued access to the crash site and Russian help to stop the rebels in Ukraine.

French President François Hollande still wants to sell two Mistral helicopter carrier warships to Russia. From The New York Times:

"For the time being, a level of sanctions has not been decided on that would prevent this delivery," Hollande said. "The Russians have paid," he said, and cancellation of the deal would oblige France to reimburse Russia to the tune of 1.1 billion euros, or $1.5 billion.

According to the Associated Press, British Prime Minister David Cameron does not want that deal to go through. He said "the Russians cannot expect continued access to European markets and capital if they continued to fuel a war against another European country."

Meanwhile, an independent analysis by the Times shows that MH17 was almost certainly downed by an SA-11 or Buk missile. Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine likely got one from Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin is still blaming Ukraine for the disaster.

President Obama's attitude towards Putin has gotten increasingly harsh as more evidence stacks up. He said yesterday, "Russia, and President Putin in particular, has direct responsibility to compel [the rebels] to cooperate with the investigation. That is the least that they can do."